Coconut Chicken and Sweet Potato Fries

I love breaded chicken.. and fried chicken.. and french fries.. and potato skins. You get the picture. I admit sometimes I miss the taste of those foods, but I do NOT miss the horrendous feeling I would get after eating them. Here are my delicious Paleo versions that won't make you feel like crap.

Coconut Chicken:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breasts or chicken tenders
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil

Mix coconut flour, coconut, and sea salt in a bowl. Beat egg in a separate bowl.  Coat chicken in egg then dip in dry mixture. Pan fry both sides on high heat in olive oil or coconut oil, then bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

*Serve with a heaping portion of veggies :-) 


Sweet Potato Fries:

Ingredients:

• Sweet potato (1/2 a potato for each person)
• Olive oil
• Ground pepper

Cut raw sweet potato into thin slices. Toss with olive oil and pepper then cook on baking sheet at 370 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

*The trick to crispy fries is a small amount of olive oil (just enough to barely coat the potato pieces) and thin slices of sweet potato. I recommend baking on aluminum foil to prevent sticking.

Chicken, Orange, and Cashew Salad

Salads... I used to associate them with a measly little lunch that would fill me up for an hour, then I would be starving and eat four pieces of chocolate. Not anymore! I don't think our paleolithic ancestors made anything this delicious, but modern day Paleos have certainly taught me a thing or two about packing a salad full of protein and healthy fats.

Chicken, Orange, and Cashew Salad:

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups spinach
• 1/2 orange
• 1 avocado
• 3/4-1 chicken breast
• 1/4 cup cashews

Chop orange, avocado, and chicken then toss with spinach and cashews. YUM.

Penny Pinching Paleo

I grew up in a household with a very money conscious mother- at age 13 I was given an allowance and was told I had to buy my own socks. I knew what a budget looked like by the time I graduated high school and I knew how to pay my own rent, utilities, and make a few dollars stretch for groceries by age 20. I don't claim to be an expert about very many things, but I do deem myself totally and completely qualified to give advice on pinching pennies. Thanks mom.

Now I work as a clinical social worker... a clinical social worker in the midwest (aka I make no money).  Primal eating can really drain your bank account if you aren't careful. Take it from the penny pinching paleo, cavewoman grub is totally a possibility on a budget. Here are a few cheap essentials for your pantry:

Canned Tuna
Canned Salmon
Frozen Green Beans
Frozen Spinach
Apples
Bags of Frozen Chicken Breasts and Fish
Frozen Fruit
Eggs
Onions
Garlic
Bags of Nuts
Sweet Potatoes
Mushrooms

Penny Pinching Tips:

• Buy in season
• Shop at farmers markets. Good for you, good for your local economy.
• Know where to shop- Trader Joes has cheap produce but maybe your local grocer runs monthly sales on grass fed beef.
• Buy in bulk- meat, fruit, Lara Bars...almond butter :-D
• Buy meat on sale and freeze
• Make a grocery list, but be flexible- if there is a sale on hormone free chicken, stock up!
• Don't assume that organic is better. Organic doesn't mean Paleo. 
• If your grocery bill went up after you started eating primal, stop spending money elsewhere! 

Finally, don't freak out about money. You can't take it with you. 

Beef and Brownies

Again, the title of my blog post may be a little misleading. I have no yummy recipe that includes both beef and brownie. I would be totally open to that combination if any of my Paleo peers have managed come up with a beef and brownie kitchen creation.
Nevertheless, be prepared for total Paleo dinner deliciousness. This recipe is a pretty huge hit at my house. My partner and I ate it up as the pups sat close by drooling.

Beef and Mushrooms with Paleo Gravy:

Ingredients:

• 3 steaks or 1 lb grass fed beef stew meat
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 medium onion
• 2-3 crushed garlic cloves
• 1/2-1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil

Prepare steaks or brown the stew meat. To make gravy: heat skillet with oil and add chopped onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Remove vegetables. Whisk flour and milk until incorporated, add cayenne and pepper. Reduce heat and add vegetables. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve with steaks or over stew meat.

*I always try to fill half of my dinner plate with veggies- pictured here are zucchini and red pepper roasted in olive oil and pepper. Throw the raw veggies on a cookie sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.



 Paleo Brownies:

Yes brownies are featured in the picture below. Yes they are Paleo. Yes this is the second time in one week I have posted a Paleo baked good. Okay. Now that all of that is out of the way I have to admit that when the weather got warmer my Paleo Chocolate Chip cookies melted in their container. The almond butter kind of separated from the rest of the cookies and settled in the middle. I guess that's the disadvantage to baking with no preservatives. No biggie. Being the easy going Paleo that I am I took the opportunity to make brownies after work :-)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 3 handfuls of Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stir together all ingredients until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your brownie pan. Make sure to grease pan with coconut or olive oil.  Enjoy with a small glass of almond milk!

Have your Cake, and be Paleo Too.

I know the title of this post promises cake... I also considered calling it "Pain in the Ass Paleo" because Paleo baked goods can be really frustrating if you learned to bake with refined sugar and white flour. And as the excitement from the promise of cake dies I hope you get some warm and fuzzies from the sweet sensation of these Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies. These little things are packed full of protein, and a few extra calories :-)

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almond butter
• 1/2 cup raw organic honey
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup Enjoy Life Chips
• 1/3 cup organic unsweetened coconut

Mix almond butter, organic honey, egg, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until incorporated. Fold in coconut and chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes on foil lined baking sheet.

* Most hardcore Paleoers say not to make baked goods a regular occurrence. The ability to practice portion control is necessary if you are going to keep these amazing cookies in your pantry. If you think temptation might get the best of you, share half the batch with your closest Paleo buddy.

Visit the dentist.. eat bacon.

I hate going to the dentist. I think it's ridiculous that they poke your gums with that sharp metal object before they get around to cleaning your teeth. To make myself feel better, I packed bacon for lunch. Now, I know we aren't supposed to reward or punish ourselves with food, food is for nourishment and energy. Lucky for me, bacon is totally legit in the Paleo world so I'm justifying it. Also, all the other cool Paleo bloggers have posts about bacon so I figured I should probably get my bacon picture up ASAP.

Easy Lunch Idea:

 

I used to think that meals weren't worth it if I didn't have to spend the time mixing and cooking ingredients. NOT TRUE. Paleo lunch can be so easy. This is two pieces of bacon, hard boiled eggs, and half a sweet potato.

*I've recently been in contact with a kick ass Paleo who also happens to be a Cross Fit trainer. Evidently there are rules- sweet potatoes should be saved for workout days, specifically post workout (proteins and carbs after weight lifting). So if you workout in the mornings like me, eat that pretty orange potato with whatever meal follows!

Paleo Hot Chocolate

Have I mentioned that Saint Louis feels like one giant igloo right now? One of the things I miss from my pre-Paleo days is wrapping my cold hands around a mug of warm coffee in the morning or hot tea in the evening. Surprisingly, I don't miss the kick of caffeine that came with those beverages- a good night's sleep, exercise, and food fuel are all I need to make it through even some of my longer work days. Anyway,  here is my solution for cold winter evenings that warrant a warm beverage!

Paleo Hot Chocolate:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 1/2-2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons raw organic honey
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon 

 Whisk all ingredients together over medium heat until incorporated. 

Perfect Paleo Day

When I first started transitioning into the Paleo lifestyle I desperately searched for meal plans covering breakfast, lunch, and dinner- plus snacks. There are a plethora of plans for Vegan and Mediterranean dieters, but not many for the primal eater. I thought I would start off my first food blog post with a bang and give you the perfect Paleo day. Don't get too used to this, I'm a busy working girl that sometimes just eats spoons full of almond butter :-)

Breakfast: Berry Banana Shake

Do you see product placement? I do. I swear I am not professionally associated with the Magic Bullet in any way, I just happen to have an unnatural love for kitchen gadgets and this is one of my favorites! This little thing occupies much less space than a blender and produces perfectly proportioned shakes on the go.  Here's what you do:

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1/3 cup frozen berries
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1 tablespoon raw organic honey

Blend ingredients.

*This pretty pink shake packs a lot of calories (about 400). You can replace the coconut milk with water, use less almond butter, and skip the honey if you aren't going to hit the gym but still want a shake. I would go with the water thing though, because the honey makes it taste delicious and who would want less almond butter?!

Lunch: Bacon and Veggie Scramble

I really love scrambles. At this point I've tried to throw anything and everything in a skillet with some olive oil in attempts to make Paleo lunches I can re- heat at work. Lucky for you this is one of my better attempts. This scramble takes about 5 minutes to make if you already have the bacon and broccoli on hand.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 slices of bacon (organic and uncured for the hardcore primal)
• 1/2 cup spinach
• 1/2-3/4 cup steamed broccoli 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Pepper to taste

Scramble eggs in a skillet with olive oil. Chop your bacon into pieces and add it in with the spinach and steamed broccoli. Heat for 1-2 minutes. Don't let the spinach get too dark, that means it's burning and it won't taste as good. Pepper to taste.

*Ground peppercorn is delicious. I recently made the switch from grocery store brand pepper to an actual pepper grinder. It makes me feel like a classy cook and my food tastes so much better.

Snack: Dried Fruit and Almonds

I admit I do prefer almonds ground up in creamy deliciousness by the spoonful, but the raw version is so much more convenient. This is a good picker-upper mid-afternoon or pre-workout snack. Trader Joes is the place to go for bags of dried fruit and raw almonds.

Dinner: Spinach Turkey Burgers and Roasted Veggies

These turkey burgers are a great way to hide a serving of green vegetables- my partner ate them without much complaint (yes, this is how I track my successes).  Here's how you make them!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 medium onion
• 1 box frozen spinach
• 1 egg
• Pepper to taste

Defrost spinach and squeeze out any excess water. Chop onion. Mix ground turkey, onion, spinach, egg, and pepper. Mold into 6 patties and cook in skillet over medium heat. Use olive oil cooking spray or two teaspoons of olive oil to keep the burgers from sticking to the skillet.

*If you put the patties in the fridge for an hour or more after molding they stay together better while cooking!

Roasted Veggies: The veggie combo in the picture includes carrots and yellow peppers, you can use whatever you fancy. Chop vegetables, add olive oil and pepper then roast on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. 

Introduction

Just to be clear, I don't actually eat spoons full of almond butter...very often.

I have a love/hate relationship with food. I love the way food tastes, and hate the societal guilt associated with it. My quest for the seemingly impossible list of foods successfully ended with a transition into the Paleo lifestyle. I strive to eat for energy and enjoyment.  I cook for a sense of achievement, balance, and well-being. Here I will share my adventures in Paleo cooking, enjoy!